Finding Love
by mynameisella
Summary: When Kiku and Katsumi Suzuki hear of Kyoko's death, they search for their good friend Tohru. Upon finding Tohru, they happen to find much more than that. Perhaps, love? Hatori/OC Haru/OC
1. Finding Tohru

Finding Tohru

**Kiku's POV**

"This city is really pretty." Katsumi murmured as I drove through the town, trying to find the address written in smudged ink on my left hand. Growing frustrated at my lack of the ability to read my own handwriting, I stuck my hand in front of Katsumi's face.

"What street does that say?" I asked. Katsumi cringed away from my hand before grabbing it. She squinted in an attempt to read my chicken scratch writing. She repeated the street name. Unexpectedly, I swerved and turned a hard right onto the street she named.

"Kiku!" Katsumi cried. The force of the turn had caused her to hit her head on the window.

"Sorry," I replied, eyes never leaving the road. "House number?" I thrust my hand in her face once more. She read the number aloud. I slammed on the brake suddenly.

"Do you _know _how to drive?" My younger sister demanded, trying to unlock her seat belt.

"Yes," I muttered promptly, turning in my seat to see as I backed up until we were in front of the correct house. "Just not well." I finished cheekily, smiling cheesily at her. I climbed out of the car as she glowered at me.

"This is Tohru's grandpa's house?" Katsumi checked, looking doubtfully at the house. I knew why she was doubtful, the house didn't have the cheer Tohru usually brought to a home. That worried me slightly; was she depressed or something? I nodded despite my worries.

"Her cousin Ichigo Honda said so. Tohru's been living here since Kyoko died." I answered quietly, which was unusual for me.

"I still can't believe Kyoko is dead." MY sister murmured, more to herself than to me. I nodded, anyway. We had grown up knowing Katsuya and Kyoko; our mother had been friends with them for years. And, Kyoko had always seemed so... invincible. Maybe I only felt that way because I knew she had been a yankee, but still...

I knocked on the door, determined to be happy. We were, after all, getting to see our childhood friend after quite a long time. Katsumi fixed her hair, which had gotten messed up when she hit the window.

A young man I had never seen before opened the door. He pushed his glasses up his nose, looking down on us.

"May I help you?" He asked rudely, putting emphasis on 'help'. Katsumi raised an eyebrow, about to retort back.

"Hi," I piped up brightly, cutting her off. "We're here to see Tohru!" I stuck my hand out. "I'm Kiku, and this is my sister, Katsumi."

The man eyed my inky hand, but didn't shake it. "Tohru doesn't live here anymore." He said shortly. He moved to shut the door, but Katsumi grabbed the door to stop him.

"What do you mean, 'she doesn't live here'?"

* * *

"Where the fuck is this house?" Katsumi whined. "I'm _so _hungry!" I was humming, trying to tune her out. It wasn't working.

Once the rude man let us inside- only after Tohru's grandfather made him, mind you- Tohru's grandpa explained that Tohru lived with friends from school now. He even gave us the address and now we were searching for yet another house.

If you haven't guessed, I have no sense of direction.

"Ooh, ooh!" I shouted, practically jumping out of my seat. I probably would have if I wasn't buckled in.

"What?" Katsumi yelled, startled by my outburst. You'd think she'd be used to them by now, as I have them a lot. "Food?"

"NO!" I replied. "I found the house all on my own!" I stated proudly as I pulled up to the house.

"You're actually proud of that, aren't you?" Katsumi laughed, unbuckling. I pouted.

"You're mean," was all I said. I got out of the car. "You knock this time," I told her, acting a bit childish. She rolled her brown eyes. Without saying anything, she rapped on the door three times. Her stomach rumbled loudly, causing me to stifle a giggle.

After a second, the door opened. A tall man answered the door. He had dark hair, a fringe covering his left eye. He was actually kinda cute. He looked a bit surprised to see us. I guess we weren't the norm out here.

Katsumi looked at me expectantly as I sort of stared at him. Hey, in my defense, he was good looking! I had a right to stare! She elbowed me in the ribs to pull me back to Earth.

"Ow," I grumbled, rubbing my side. "Um, yea, we're here to see Tohru. Her grandfather said she lived here." I blushed at how awkward I sounded.

The handsome man looked even more surprised. "Yes," he said. "Tohru does live here. Come in, please." He stood aside to let us in. We thanked him while we took off our shoes. After we entered, Katsumi looked over to me.

"What's with you?" She whispered. I pretended to not know what she was talking about and didn't reply. I knew, however, that she meant how I normally never stuttered or anything.

"Ha-san, who was at the door?" A man, about the age of "Ha-san", walked into the hallway. He actually looked similar to "Ha-san". He had dark hair, styled differently, but wasn't quite as handsome. The new man's eyes lit up at the sight of us. "Do my eyes deceive me? Are there two beautiful _high school _girls in my home? I'm Shigure." He held out his hand, smiling at us.

"Shigure, don't be vile." "Ha-san" said, causing Shigure to deflate.

"I'm not in high school," I felt compelled to say. "I'm Kiku, by the way. This is my sister, Katsumi."

"Kiku?" A familiar voice from the kitchen drifted to the hall. "Katsumi?" I ran for Tohru, glomping her when I saw her.

"Tohru, Tohru, Tohru!" I cried, totally forgetting I was in a stranger's house. Tohru laughed, hugging me back. I heard Katsumi enter the kitchen.

"Kiku, get off the poor girl!" Katsumi tore me from Tohru's arms, replacing me with herself. Tohru hugged her lovingly.

"What are you two doing here?" She asked, looking positively overjoyed that we had shown up out of nowhere.

"We came to see you!" I chirped.

"We heard about Kyoko," Katsumi added. "We needed to see you." Of course, Tohru began freaking out in a fashion only she could.

"Oh no, you didn't have to!" She cried. "I can't believe I caused you to go through all the trouble of coming all the way out here! I mean, I'm so grateful, but you really shouldn't have. I hate to be a burden!" I covered her mouth with my hand before she could continue on in her rant.

"We _wanted _to." Tohru smiled form underneath my hand.

"Tohru, who are all these people?" Katsumi asked. That brought my attention to the fact that we weren't the only people in the room. There was a blond kid who looked about ten, a guy with a bad bleach job, a princely looking boy with grey hair- he was almost as good looking as the guy who answered the door; I would have stared if I couldn't tell he was only fifteen-, Shigure, and "Ha-san".

"Oh, it was so rude of me to not introduce you!" Tohru said. She pointed to the guy with the unfortunately orange hair. "This is Kyo," she pointed to the princely one, "Yuki," the blond one, "Momiji," Shigure, "Shigure," and "Ha-san", "and Hatori!" Hatori... Huh, it kind of actually fit him. "Everyone, this is Kiku and Katsumi, some of my very best friends!" I waved to everyone in the room, blushing when I looked at Hatori. Katsumi gave a friendly wave.

"Hi," she said.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Tohru asked. Before we could answer, she said, "Oh! I should have asked you first if they could stay, Shigure!" Shigure held up a hand that had previously been in a pocket in his kimono.

"Of course they may stay. How could I ever say no to such beautiful flowers?" He almost gushed.

Katsumi bristled. I didn't understand why.

"I'm fifteen," she told him. He just smiled.

"I'm twenty one," I offered. "Um, why are we saying our ages?"

Katsumi looked like she wanted to say something, but changed her mind. "No reason, Kiku." She replied.

"Well, I'd better get cooking if two more people are going to be eating with us!" Tohru said cheerfully, running back to the food. Katsumi smiled happily.

"Yay, food!"


	2. Finding Kyoko's Shirt

Finding Kyoko's Shirt

**Katsumi's POV**

After dinner, which was delicious-as to be expected of Tohru's cooking-, Tohru got permission for Kiku and me to sleep over. Kiku accepted almost instantly, of course. She was quite disappointed when Hatori left, though she refused to admit to fancying him when I teased her. It was really obvious she liked him. She kept glancing at him throughout dinner, and turned red whenever he looked back at her. It was Daisuke Hoshi all over again. Except, three times worse.

Momiji left with Hatori and Tohru had invited us to her room.

"If you'd like, you can borrow some of my clothes!" Tohru offered when she discovered we had no pajamas or clothes for the morning. She pulled out two cute nightgowns for us to wear. Mine was too short. I'm sort of tall for my age, taller than Tohru at least, so I expected this to happen. What I didn't expect, though, was how huge Tohru's clothes would be on Kiku. Kiku, as you may have realized, is what one would call petite. That's why everyone was so surprised to find she was twenty one years old. So, of course, she was swimming in Tohru's pink nightgown.

The three of us sat in a sort of triangle on Tohru's huge bed. We chatted lightly for a while, catching up, until the subject turned serious.

"Why didn't you tell us your mom died?" I asked softly, leaning back against a pillow. Tohru's smile faded. I felt bad for that, but I needed to know. And, I knew it bugged Kiku, too.

"I-" Tohru began, tugging on her hair lightly. "I don't know," she whispered. Tears welled up in her pretty brown eyes, much prettier than mine in my opinion- though people tended to say otherwise. Immediately, Kiku and I hugged her.

"You should have told us." Kiku's voice was muffled because she had her face buried in Tohru's hair. If I hadn't been so sad, I would have laughed at the fact that Kiku was on her knees and was just barely taller than Tohru sitting down.

"Yea," I added, pulling back to look at Tohru. "You know that we know how it feels to lose your mom." I felt really bad for saying that the second it left my lips; Tohru was crying now, clutching Kiku's small frame tightly.

"I-I know," She choked out, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Kiku and I were young when we lost our mother. I was maybe four, so I don't really remember her than much, or even what happened. I just remember mom being there one day, everything was perfectly normal in my four year old mind, and not the next. Later, my dad explained to me that mom had left us. She just up and left. About two years later, dad found out that she had died. I don't know how he found out, but he did.

Even more, the two of us pretty much knew what it was like to lose both parents, as dad has been in jail for the past three years. I don't know what his crime was, and I don't want to. All I can say on that is that we were lucky that Kiku's eighteenth birthday had just past, or we would have been put in foster care. Instead, Kiku has been doing odd jobs and "taking care of me". I love my sister, but she's not that responsible. I guess that's why she can't hold down a job.

A knock on the door dragged me from my thoughts and ceased Tohru's tears. She wiped her face furiously before answering the door. She looked determined to not let anyone know she had been crying. All she succeeded with was making her face really, really red.

She opened the door to see Kyo, the guy with orange hair, and Yuki standing there, glaring at each other. They stopped when they noticed the door was open.

"Tohru?" Yuki asked, immediately seeing her tear stained face. "Why were you crying?" Tohru, abashed that he figured her out so quickly, hit her head on the door frame on "accident".

"I hit my head on the door _again_!" She cried out, holding her forehead, tearing streaming down her face again. Kyo held out a hand, as if he was afraid she'd do it again.

"What'd ya do that for?" He yelled. Seeing Tohru's shocked face, he struggled to calm down. "We wanted to say good night."

"Oh!" Tohru said cheerfully, forgetting all about the painful lump on her face. "Good night Kyo, Yuki!"

Kiku and I took that as our cue for sleep. That night, we slept on either side of Tohru.

* * *

The next morning I was awakened by the sound of elephants trampling the house.

I sat up quickly to see I was the only one still asleep. I looked around, but saw no elephants. _Do elephants even live in_ Japan? I asked myself, scratching my wavy, dirty blonde hair. I yawned, then spotted the clothes Tohru had laid out for me to wear. The shorts were a little too short, but that was because i had longer legs than Tohru. Luckily, the shirt seemed to fit just right. Must've been Kyoko's.

I trudged down stairs, still half asleep, where the sound of elephants was louder than ever.

"That's all ya got, cat boy? You're pathetic! No wonder you can't beat Yuki! You're a sissy! Ha, no you know what you are? You're a pussy!" The mean voice laughed. "Get it? Pussy equals cat!"

I saw the hall was in ruins. The rice paper door was tattered, vases smashed, holes in the wall, the whole shebang. I searched for the culprits, the thought of the place being robbed in the night crossed my mind.

I found them. The culprits, I mean. Not robbers. It was Kyo and some guy with white and black hair. The guy with the multicolored hair was the one with the mean voice. He kept calling Kyo rude names.

"What the?" I asked as I tiptoed over the rubbish into the kitchen, where everyone else was eating.

"Haru came to challenge Kyo to a match." Shigure answered airily, stuffing his face with breakfast.

"Katsumi! Mom's shirt looks so nice on you!" Tohru cooed. She grabbed my arms, twirling me around to get a better look at the shirt.

"Dammit!" Kyo yelled, flying through the air onto the kitchen floor. Haru followed him in. He was about the kick Kyo, and then I caught his eye.

Oh, great.

"Well, well, well," he purred, advancing on me. Instinctively, I backed up. My butt hit the table, so I had nowhere to go. "What's a pretty girl like you doing _here_?"

"We came to see Tohru, Hatsuharu!" Kiku replied happily, not understanding his tone at all. It was almost like bad things bounced off her; she almost never realized when bad things were happening.

I narrowed my eyes when he tried to cop a feel. I grabbed his wrist.

"Nuh-uh," I said darkly. His eyes narrowed, too, as he wrenched his wrist out of my grasp.

"Bitch," He muttered, flipping me the bird. I didn't hesitate to give it back to him. Before he could say anything, Yuki grabbed his elbow and dragged him outside.

"What an ass!" I yelled once the door closed.

"Katsumi!" Kiku and Tohru cried in unison.

"What did I say about bad words?" Kiku chided. I thought about it before replying, "Don't use them in front of you?" Kiku nodded firmly, as if that was an airtight rule.

* * *

Not long later, Kiku and I had to leave. We were running out of money, so Kiku need to find some work. Plus, there was school tomorrow and Kiku insisted I go. We said goodbye to everyone, except Yuki and Haru who had never come back. Shigure repeatedly told us we were welcome back anytime.

"How nice of you!" Kiku exclaimed. Shigure waved a hand as if it was nothing, but I could almost hear him singing in his head, "High school girls, high school girls, all for me, high school girls~!"

"Oh, wait!" I said before I climbed into the death trap that was Kiku's car. "Tohru, don't you want Kyoko's shirt back?" I didn't want to keep it; it was probably one of the only things of Kyoko's that Tohru still had.

"Oh, no, you can keep it!" Tohru replied cheerfully. "It looks great on you, anyways!" I smiled, hugging her before leaving.


	3. Finding a New Home

Finding a New Home

**Kiku's POV**

Katsumi pressed the button on the house phone to listen to our voice mail. She put it on speaker.

"Katsumi? Kiku?" Hikari Momomiya's voice appeared. Both of our heads snapped to look at the phone. Hikari was our father's lawyer. Our father had been in jail for years now, and Hikari had promised to never call unless it was serious. "I know this is sudden, and you're probably freaking out right now. But, I wanted to warn you that your father will be getting out of jail in three days."

"What?" Katsumi cried. She snatched the phone up, dialing it quickly. I could do nothing but sit down slowly, hugging my knees. Dad? Out of jail? No, no! That couldn't happen! The only way that could happen is if he got bail, and neither of us had given him any.

"Doe she know where we live?" Katsumi's voice broke through my thoughts. I looked at her, hoping to read her face and find out what Hikari said. "Shit." Crap. Crap crap crap crap crap crap crap.

Our dad was a bad person. I don't like even thinking about what he did. It made me feel like I didn't even know him. But, if there's one thing at all that I know about him, it's that he'll try to find us. And that can't happen.

"We're moving, Kiku." Katsumi flipped her phone shut. I didn't say anything, just pulled up my laptop and opened it. I Googled for houses on sale.

We looked together for a while in silence, scrolling through houses and apartments alike. We both knew what our budget was, so we didn't have any reason to talk unless we found something.

"What about that one?" Katsumi broke the silence and pointed to a rather large apartment. Larger than our current one, at least. "Look! It's really close to where Tohru lives."

"It's in our price range," I added, reading the information. The apartment was in the Sohma Estate apartment complex. Sohma... Wasn't that the surname of the people Tohru lives with? I thought so. Was their family so rich that they had their own apartment complex?

Anyway, this place would be really good. I pay the bills by doing odd jobs, and there are a lot more odd jobs in the big city than a suburb.

"I like that we'll be near Tohru." Katsumi stated. I turned from the laptop, my full attention on her. "I don't trust those Sohma guys." I bit my lip.

"The one guy- Yuki, I think?- seemed okay." I offered, trying to stay positive. Katsumi made a face, not believing my words. She gave a sort of half shrug, to which I snorted with laughter.

"What?" She asked, amused by the sound I had just made. I continued laughing, unable to catch my breath and explain.

And, just like that, everything was better. Both of our unhappy moods were lifted. I got on the phone to talk about the apartment and Katsumi grabbed some boxes, starting to pack. I was the bright, happy person I usually was, and Katsumi was... well... not so unhappy as she had been since we heard of Kyoko's death.

"Thank you!" I cried. "Thank you so much!" I hung up my cell phone, a smile ingrained on my face. I grabbed a box from the pile Katsumi had dragged out and went into the kitchen to help Katsumi pack the dishes.

Casually, I said, "we got the house." Katsumi dropped the chopsticks that were in her hand. She jumped on me, hugging me tightly. Laughing, I went on. "I just have to go pay them in the morning."

Once Katsumi let go of me, we continued packing up the kitchen.

* * *

We packed all night long. Once eight o'clock came around- when I had to go pay first and last month's rent at our new apartment- we had nearly packed everything and were running on no sleep.

After that we began moving in. I left Katsumi to finish up the little packing that was left and I went back and forth, bringing boxes and boxes over.

Finally, we were both at the new apartment, unpacking carefully. It was a lot longer process than packing, as we hadn't been very organized while packing everything. We had pretty much tossed stuff into boxes and suitcases.

"How did the DVDs end up with my shoes and purses?" Katsumi asked from her new room, pulling the DVDs from the box, a few shoes falling out as she did so. I giggled, grabbing them from her and set them in the living room by the TV.

"I have no idea," I replied. "How did the silverware end up with my underwear?" Katsumi laughed out loud. I laughed with her until there was a knock on the door. Tripping over boxes, I made my way to the door. I opened it, kicking another box out of the way, to see Hatori, the handsome man from Tohru's house. I felt a blush rush to my cheeks.

"Uh, hi," I stuttered, standing straighter. He looked sort of shocked to see me, too.

"Kiku, right?" He asked. I nodded quickly, then cursed myself for being hyper. He held out some paperwork. "You need to fill these out and return them to the manager of the building." I took them from him, my fingers brushing his. Hatori hesitated, seeming like he wanted to say something else.

"Kiku? Who's at the door?" Katsumi called.

"Just a second!" I yelled back. I turned back to Hatori. "Is-is there something else you needed?" Mentally, I kicked myself for saying that. It made it sound like I was annoyed that he was here!

Hatori shook his head. "I just was wondering if you are going to Shigure's house for dinner tonight? He's insisting I come and I need to know if I have to come up with an excuse to skip out." I could feel my blush deepen as I tried to make out an emotion on Hatori's face. Handsome as he was, I couldn't read him at all.

But, what did he mean? If I was going to Shigure's, it was worth going to?

"Well, I wasn't invited, and neither was Katsumi, but-" I was stammering until Hatori cut me off.

"I am inviting the both of you."

"O-oh!" I said, tugging on my shirt. "Well, then we would love to come. What time should we get there?"

"I will pick you up at seven." With a wave, Hatori left. I leaned against the doorway, waving to him. I stared at his retreating figure, a smiling dancing on my face.

"Oh, la, la!" Katsumi sang from behind me. I jumped up, turning to see a smirking fifteen year old. Her dirty blond hair was pulled up into a ponytail with pieces falling down. "So, what plans have you made with_ Hatori_?" She emphasized his name, chuckling when my face grew red once more.

"We're going to Shigure's house for dinner. He'll be here at seven." I answered, trying in vain to prevent her from knowing that she was embarrassing me.

"Ooooohhh!" She sang before falling flat on her face over a box. I laughed at karma.

"You're coming, too." She stopped her singing from the floor and sat up.

"Oh, so it's not a date." I tried not to seem disappointed when I replied.

"Nope."


	4. Finding Haru's Twin?

Finding Haru's Twin?

**Katsumi's POV**

We fell asleep. Could you blame us? We had been awake for over 24 hours and needed a good sleep.

I awoke, however, to a pillow hitting my face. "Katsumiiiii! Get up!" Kiku's voice was both chipper and sleep-filled at the same time. How that was possible, I had no idea. I was getting annoyed with Kiku again. I was glad she wasn't so depressed anymore, don't get me wrong, but I've never been good with dealing with her bubbly, cheerful self. Seriously. It's like, she never gets sad until she goes into a week-long depression. And, once it's over, she's back to normal as if it never happened.

I pushed myself off the floor; I hadn't even made it to the bed before I crashed. I found a blanket thrown over my body. Huh. Kiku must have tossed it on me before she fell asleep.

"What time is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes to rid them of sleepiness. Kiku, who was in the bathroom changing frantically, shouted, "Six forty five!"

And, suddenly, everything made sense. She had fifteen minutes until Hatori, her _love_ would be arriving. I snickered under my breath as I began digging through the pile of clothes I had tossed on my bed. Kiku had it bad. It was actually kind of amusing to watch.

I pulled on a yellow long sleeved shirt and some jean shorts. I put some make up on, not too much, brushed my hair, and found some shoes. I found a DVD under my Vans. I rolled my brown eyes and tossed it over with the rest.

"You almost ready?" I asked my older sister.

"Yea," she replied, walking out of the bathroom. I had to admit, she looked good. Especially because she had fifteen minutes to do it. She had her pale blonde hair pulled away from her face. She had a pink decorative shirt, a black pencil skirt, and some nude pumps. She wore no make up, but she shrugged that off. "I'll survive," she said when I brought it up.

Right on cue, there was a knock on the door. Kiku grabbed her purse, which matched her shirt, and opened the door with a huge smile of her face.

* * *

We made it to Shigure's house. Tohru was waiting outside and hugged us when she saw us.

"I missed you so much!" She cried. I laughed.

"You saw us yesterday!" I said in between laughs. Tohru laughed along with me.

"Come in, come in!" Tohru dragged us inside. "You, too, Hatori!" She called over her shoulder. We were graciously escorted over to the table, where everyone was sitting. That included that asshole, Haru. He smiled and waved at me. I raised an eyebrow, sort of confused.

"I'll introduce everyone again!" Tohru decided. "There's Yuki, Kyo, Shigure, Momiji, and Hatsuharu!" Hatsuharu? Wasn't his name Haru?

"Ah, the two beauties have returned!" Shigure cried. "Good job, Ha-san; you captured the princesses!" He made me want to gag.

"You make inviting them to dinner sound criminal." Hatori deadpanned, taking a seat. Kiku quickly sat next to him, smiling at Shigure.

"I'm really a princess?" She asked him. Almost everyone in the room gave her a look. Shigure, on the other hand, smiled back at her flirtatiously.

"Of course you are!"

I looked for a place to sit, noticing that the only free one was next to Hatsuharu. Groaning inwardly, I took a seat.

Throughout dinner, Kyo and Yuki bickered back and forth. Kiku tried and failed at flirting with Hatori, who seemed oblivious to her attempts. And, Hatsuharu was a complete gentleman. It really confused me.

I figured he must be a twin. He looked exactly like the ass Haru I met the other day, but was totally different.

"Excuse me," I said to no one, leaving the table to use the bathroom.

Once I was done, I ran into Kyo. Or, at least, I thought I did.

Confusing, right?

I ran into something, I knew that much. There was a _Poof_ sound, sort of like an explosion. I fell to the ground. Rubbing my head, I looked for Kyo.

"Kyo?" I asked. That's when I noticed the cat. And orange cat, to be exact. It was glaring at me. Could cats glare? I never thought so, but here we were. Sitting in the hallway, a cat glaring daggers as me. "I'm sorry, kitty. Did I hurt you?" I cooed, picking up the oddly colored cat as I stood up. I hated cats, but I felt bad for running into it, or whatever I did. The cat hissed, clawing at my arm. So, I did what any normal person would do. I flicked it in the forehead.

Yea, the cat didn't like that.

"MEOW!" It cried, pronouncing the word as a human would, not a cat. It squirmed in my arms.

"Hush," I said, making my way back into the kitchen. I held the cat close until it gave up trying to escape. Can you tell I'm not good with animals?

"You never mentioned having a cat." I said once I entered the kitchen. Everyone but Kiku tensed.

"Achoo!" Kiku sneezed. "Katsumi, put the cat somewhere else! You know I'm allergic!" I scratched my head sheepishly.

"Oops." Yuki stood, holding his arms out.

"I'll take him and lock him in a room." Yuki offered charmingly. The cat immediately clung to me shirt, claws digging into my skin.

"Ow! Stupid cat!" I pulled the cat from my shirt and handed him to Yuki. Kiku sneezed again, and Yuki left the room.

"You're allergic to cats, Kiku?" Momiji asked. Kiku nodded, wiping her nose with her napkin. "That's too bad. Cat's are so cute."

"They're evil." I stated blandly, digging back into my food. Shigure snorted into his rice. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing!" he sang. I raised my eyebrows. I didn't say anything, though. I just let it go.

"So, why are cats evil?" Yuki asked me, clearly amused. He leant forward, cradling his head in his hand.

"They just are. As a species, they are evil and useless." Yuki seemed to grow even more amused by my answer.

"When Katsumi was five, she found a stray cat and brought it home. Daddy thought it would be a good idea to let her take care of it herself. You know, she'd learn from it and all." I groaned, knowing where Kiku's story was headed. "Well, two days later, Katsumi was covered inn scratches from the cat and had caught ringworm from it."

I bristled at the reminder of that horrendous animal. It was more like a beast than a pet. I still don't know what Dad had been thinking.

"Cats aren't so bad," Kyo stated, walking into the room. He slapped Yuki upside the head, who retaliated by tripping by. The klutz Kyo was, he fell flat on his face. Didn't even try to catch himself.

Wow. You know, if cats had one good quality, it would be that they were graceful. Kyo didn't even have that. It was the only quality he _didn't _share with cats. Otherwise, they were practically the same thing.

Stupid cats. Stupid Kyo.


	5. Finding Work

Finding Work

**Kiku's POV**

The next morning, I had to find work. I was very, very low on cash, especially since I had to pay rent for our new apartment. So now, I was exploring the city while looking for odd jobs.

"Where is Akane?!" My ears perked as I passed a restaurant. I stepped in quickly, listening as the manager complained some more. "She knows she had the day shift today! Ugh, she always does this!"

Politely, I tapped the manager on his shoulder. Mid-rant, he turned. He sighed.

"What can I help you with, Miss?" I smiled brightly.

"I couldn't help but overhear you. What job does this Akane have?" He went pink. I guess he was embarrassed.

"She's a waitress," he said quickly. My smile grew. A waitress, perfect.

"If you'd like, I could fill in for her. I have experience." I offered, knowing he'd agree. Just as I knew he would, he jumped at the chance.

Before I knew it, I was in a waitress uniform, pad of paper and pen in hand. I approached my first table, ready to take orders. The woman at the table was preoccupied with three fussing children. I cleared my throat and she looked up, her old, tired eyes wide.

"What will you all be having today, miss?" I asked optimistically. She looked at her first child expectantly.

"Chicken wings with fries! No, wait! Mac n cheeeese!"

"I'm not sure that's on the menu," I said, smiling at the kid.

The child, a little girl, scoffed. "I want mac n cheese!" she screeched. She pounded her fist on the table, wailing in protest.

"Or, or, or," I went on, alarmed by the child's wails. "I could make you some mac n cheese." The girl stopped crying instantly. She beamed as I turned to the next girl for her order.

This girl was was slightly older, and looked awfully matter-of-fact. "Well, if you can handle it, I'll have a classic burger, well done, extra ketchup, hold the mustard, and a diet coke, make sure thee ice is crushed. On the side, a salad, make sure you shred the lettuce well. Add chicken chunks and ranch dressing. Make sure everything is the appropriate temperature." She finished quickly, catching her breath. "Got all that?"

I stared at her, shell-shocked. She looked at me expectantly as if I were dumb. "Yes!" I exclaimed, scratching things down on my pad. "Of course!"

"Right." She rolled her eyes.

"And last of all?" I looked at the last child, who was a screaming baby boy.

"Oh, he likes his food mashed," the mother said tiredly. "Bananas, nuts, and raisins."

"Wonderful," I grumbled, turning away to the kitchen. This was going to be a long day.

LINE

Exhausted from the day's work, I collected my small paycheck and trudged home.

Going down the main street, I passed a bar with bright flashing lights. The smell of booze and fries wafted out of the open door towards me, and I scrunched up my nose in disapproval. But as I was passing by, I saw something that made me stop in my tracks.

There was a man at the bar, who appeared to be begging for a job. The bartender kept denying him, shaking his head and protesting.

"Dad?" I said to myself in disbelief. As soon as I realized how loud it had really came out, I smacked my hands over my mouth and immediately fled the scene. Running home through the streets and alleyways, I prayed to every God I knew of that my father had not heard me. "Buddha, Allah, dear sweet Jesus..."

I counted my just rewards once I was out of the city, taking precautions as to not get mugged. Minimum wage was around seven dollars an hour, and I worked twelve hours. That was...eighty four dollars, approximately. All in all, that was an alright pay for a day's work.

I burst through the apartment door, exhausted, flinging myself on the couch. "I'm dead, Katsumi," I groaned, face-down in a pillow. "I'm dead."

"And why's that?" she droned, not sounding all-too interested. I picked my head up and squinted at her.

"Small children are evil," I answered, letting my head drop once more. My blonde hair was spread all around me on the couch.

"Uh huh..." Katsumi replied, making it clear that she wasn't really listening. I groaned once more, not moving from my position. "Hey, you get a check? My new school needs my first tuition payment by tomorrow."

I pushed myself off the couch, snatching up my purse. I pulled out the money, which I had already cashed on the way home. "How much?" Katsumi told me the amount and I pulled it out and gave it to her. I whistled lowly, as the tuition took most of my day's work. Personally, I was surprised that my day's work was enough to pay for it, let alone more than.

"Good day's work," Katsumi commented. I nodded in agreement. I moaned as my tummy growled, too lazy to get up.

"Katsumi," I whined. "I'm hungry!" Katsumi looked at me wearily. I looked back, puppy dog eyes in full play. Looking like she'd rather do anything else in the world, she got up and dragged herself to the kitchen.

Minutes later, she came back with three rice balls on a plate, seaweed wrapping it to make it easier to hold without it sticking. I beamed up at her, turning so that I was on my back. She dropped the plate on my tummy.

"Thank you, sissy!" I sang through a mouthful of rice and salmon. Katsumi smiled slightly at me, before settling back down and working on homework.

"So, are you gonna find more work tomorrow? Or are you going to take a break?"

Having already decided this on the way home, I told her, "I'll find more work. There's not much money left now, and we'll need more food soon."

On the way home, I also had chosen to not tell her that I had seen Daddy today. I didn't want her to freak out.

She'd probably find out soon, anyway.

* * *

Just wanted to say that my lovely cousin, Hugs-n-Symmetry wrote some, if not most, of this chapter! If you like Soul Eater or Ouran Highschool Host Club, go check her out! You'll love it ;) Don't forget to review!


	6. Finding Church

Btw, my cousin wrote this chapter for you! Check her out: hugs-n-symmetry.

Finding Church

**Katsumi's POV**

"We're going to church?"

Kiku nodded cheerfully, pulling the hair curler out of her hair and watching her curls bounce. I stared at the brochure in front of me.

"Kiku, we haven't been to church since mom…"

She stopped me from finishing my sentence. "It's something good to pass the time. So, we're going. Whether you like it or not."

I sighed, my patience running out. "This is my last free day before I start school, and I kind of wanted to take advantage of it…"

"Well too bad, it's not something we're discussing." When Kiku made up her mind on something, it was case closed. I left her to finish up her primping, and went to the kitchen to find something to eat. I ran my hands through my dark blonde hair while I scanned the fridge for anything edible. I was out of luck in that department, but I came to the conclusion that I needed a shower. The brochure had informed me that church started at ten thirty. It was almost ten o' clock. Pfft, I had time.

I quickly jumped in the shower, did what I needed to do, and hopped out. Then I proceeded to dress in the nicest clothes I had unpacked and do my makeup. I did my hair in two twin braids because I didn't have time to dry or straighten it.

It was ten twenty-five when I finished, and Kiku was in my room pacing back and forth insisting that we were going to be late. I waved her off, reminding her that the church was just down the street a little. She panicked anyway.

We set out moments later, Kiku almost forgetting to grab her purse. Heavens no, we couldn't live without that. We locked the apartment door behind us and started down the street, Kiku humming to herself all the while. This was way too much for me to handle before noon on a Sunday morning.

Before we were even a good ways down the street, Kiku perked up and started looking sort of self-conscious. I wondered what it was that could have gotten such a reaction out of her, and looked down the street where her attention was focused. A little ways down, coming our way, was Hatori, Momiji, and one of those strange twins, Hatsuharu or Haru. I couldn't tell which it was. They were kind of identical. I had yet to see them together though, and I didn't blame them. If I was Hatsuharu I wouldn't want to be seen anywhere with that ass Haru.

Momiji saw us then, and called our names, jumping up and down and waving his arms in the air. He somewhat resembled a child on Christmas morning. Hatori nodded to us, and that twin smiled. I concluded then that it was Hatsuharu. Haru would have glared.

When they were within earshot, Kiku said, "Good morning!" Her voice shook, but I think I was the only one who noticed. I had to try hard to keep myself from snickering.

"On your way to see Tohru?" I asked, attempting to start a conversation. Momiji nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, you wanna come with us?"

Kiku shook her head. "No thank you, Momiji. We have somewhere to be. But thanks for the offer!"

Momiji pouted. "Aw, but I wanted to spend more time with you!"

"Hush, Momiji," Hatori said. "Where are you two headed?"

"To church," Kiku said quickly. Her voice shook again. Why did this guy make her so nervous?

"Do you normally go to church?"

"No," Kiku admitted, her cheeks tinted pink. "Not since our mom disappeared."

Hatori nodded. "Ah." His expression was hard to figure out. I stared at him. Then my gaze moved towards Hatsuharu, who smiled at me.

"We gotta go, Kiku," I reminded her, pushing her gently forward. I could tell she wanted to stay and talk to Hatori as long as possible, because she wouldn't budge.

"Hatori," Momiji spoke up again, "What if we went with them?"

Hatori looked momentarily shocked.

"Akito wouldn't like that," Hatsuharu mumbled. Hatori nodded in agreement, though I could see the thoughtful look on his face.

"But Akito doesn't need to know," Momiji pointed out. "Oh, pleeaaaaseee, Haa-san?" He gave Hatori the cutest puppy dog look I have ever seen. "Pwease pwease pwease – "

"I suppose one time wouldn't hurt," Hatori admitted tiredly. Momiji beamed.

"Thanks so much, Haa-san! Come on, guys!" He grabbed Kiku by the crook of her elbow and dragged her along as he skipped down the street, back in the direction he came from. Minutes later we arrived at the church, right as service was starting.

"Hurry," Momiji urged, ushering us all inside. We found an empty pew near the back and all sat down. I would rather have been anywhere but there. I was squished between Hatsuharu and Momiji, and Momiji would not sit still. He kept swinging his legs beneath the pew and every time the pastor said the words "thee" or "thy" he would giggle into his hand. Hatsuharu gave me a sympathetic glance.

"I have to go to the bathroom," I whispered to no one in particular. I excused myself and slid out of the pew, dashing out of the room and down the short hallway to the bathroom. I didn't really have to go though. But I was getting claustrophobic during that service. And it didn't feel right without mom.

I washed my hands twice just to pass the time, fixed my hair in the mirror, and left the bathroom. To my shock, Hatsuharu was standing in the hallway as if he were waiting for me. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"How'd you get out of there alive?" I asked jokingly.

He shrugged. "I just got up and left."

"What a rebel," I quipped, walking past him. I was just about to turn to go back into the sanctuary when I suddenly felt myself being yanked backwards. I looked over my shoulder, shocked to see Hatsuharu, his hand in a tight grip around my forearm, pulling me towards the exit.

"Wh-what are you doing?" I asked breathlessly. His grip on my arm loosened when he realized he was being too rough.

"Let's get outta here," he said simply, gently leading me out the door.

"We're skipping church?" I scoffed. "Uh, this isn't school. We can't just leave whenever."

He chuckled. "Who said? Hatori wouldn't care, your sister's too busy giving him googly eyes to notice, and Momiji seemed a bit preoccupied as well."

I bit my lip as I followed him around the side of the church. He made some valid points. Since he wasn't as big of a jerk as Haru, I decided to trust him. I followed him to a small park behind the church.

"You knew this was here?" I asked, grabbing one of the swings' chains. He shrugged again.

"Not really. I just saw it and thought it'd be a nice place to chill." He sat nonchalantly on one of the swings and looked up at me. "So. Tell me about yourself."

I sat on the swing next to him. "Why do you care?"

"Just curious."

I took a deep breath, racking my brain for something interesting to start with. "Well, I live alone with my sister…"

"Yeah, I know that much."

"Er…my dad just got out of jail."

This seemed to spark his attention. He turned to me, a curious look in his eyes. "Really? Has he tried to make contact with you?"

I nodded slowly, at a loss for words.

He nodded, and it was as if a silent conversation passed between the two of us. I didn't expect him to understand, but at least he would listen. After all, didn't he come from some huge important family that had their own estate? He probably didn't have the same family issues as I did. Kiku was the only person I had. He had a whole estate full.

"Kiku works so hard to support us," I added out of the blue. "Sometimes I just wish there was something I could do to help."

"But there is," Hatsuharu chimed in. I gave him a puzzled look, and he continued, "I mean, it's not like you're handicapped or anything. You seem perfectly able to me. Earn your own money."

"You mean like…get a job?"

"Not particularly. You like kids, right?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah…I guess. I mean, who doesn't like kids?"

He smiled at me. "There ya go."

"Are you saying I should…babysit?"

"Hey, you said it, not me." He held up his hands in an innocent gesture. "Would you be up for it?"

"I dunno if I'm qualified, I've never really done it before."

He chuckled. "It's not hard. You just put 'em to bed, then you can do whatever the hell you want."

I eyed him suspiciously. "You seem to be quite the expert on this subject, eh?"

"It's just common sense." He looked at me and arched an eyebrow. "If you want, I'll go with you your first time. Make things a little easier on ya. And you can keep all the cash, I don't need any."

"No, no, that's fine," I said, waving him off. "I can handle it."

"I don't believe you." He grinned at me. "I'm going with you anyway."

I sighed, turning away defensively. "Fine, be that way." I fished my phone out of my pocket and checked the time. "It's almost eleven thirty. We better get back in there before service ends and they see we're gone."

He nodded in agreement, and together we snuck back inside the church. We took our seats just as the pastor was dismissing the congregation, and everyone began to file out. In all the hustle, Hatori gave us a look and mumbled, "Where have you two been?"

"At the park," Hatsuharu answered simply. I grinned sheepishly, and Hatori gave us a small smile. This came as a shock to me. I didn't think I'd ever seen him smile. As we left the church, I trailed behind the others in silence as Momiji chattered away, talking everyone's ears off.

Kiku stopped in the middle of the street. "Let's all go out to eat," she said simply, grinning at the four of us.

"Right now?" I asked dubiously. Kiku nodded enthusiastically.

"My treat!" she chirped. This shocked me. As far as I was concerned, we could hardly afford milk. There must have been some money she had been saving.

"All right," Hatori said, nodding. Momiji giggled and led the way to the restaurant, the rest of us following along behind him.

Hatsuharu gave me a look. It appeared we would be babysitting soon.


	7. Finding Illness

Finding Illness

**Kiku's POV**

I woke up early the next morning, wanting to make Katsumi a big breakfast before her first day at a new school. I awoke to a headache, stomachache, and feeling far more tired than I should have been. I crawled out of bed, feeling horrible, and trudged to the kitchen.

I groaned to myself as the pans clanked together, heightening my headache.

I worked quickly, making pancakes. They were fluffy, just the way Katsumi liked them. I made tons, the smell making me feel even more sick. I sucked it up, though, and prepared the pancakes. I poured the syrup all over the pile of them.

"Kiku?" Katsumi asked, entering the kitchen. I turned around, smiling brightly even though I felt like crap.

"Surprise!" I cried, tossing my hands in the air. Katsumi's brown eyes widened when her attention fell on the stack of steaming hot pancakes. I could practically see her stomach growl as she rushed over to the food. She certainly helped herself, taking most of the stack onto her plate that I had set up for her.

I leaned against the counter, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in my tummy and the pounding pressure in my skull. My eyes fluttered as I struggled to keep them open.

Mid bite, Katsumi seemed to notice that I wasn't being myself. She set her fork down, stood up, and approached me. She looked at me closely, placing a hand on my forehead. I sniffled pitifully, fighting to keep my eyes open. Her eyebrows furrowed, sliding her hand from my forehead to my cheek.

"You're sick." She stated flatly. "I'm staying home; you need someone to take care of you." I shook my head slowly, wincing from the pain.

"No, no!" I protested. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I swear, Katsumi," I added when she didn't look convinced.

"Kiku-"

"No! Go to school. Make friends. Have fun!" I insisted, practically shoving her out the door. I turned and saw that her backpack was sitting by the kitchen door, and not out there with her. I grabbed it, tossing it out the door, and shut it once more.

I went to go get ready for the day. I entered my room, crawling over the bed to grab some shoes that were on the floor on the other side.

LINE

I woke up, sprawled across the bed. I was above the covers and was shivering. I looked at the clock and saw that it was already eleven o'clock, and I had yet to go out and find any work. I groaned. My head and stomach hurt even worse than they had before. And, somehow, I was more tired, too.

I left my bedroom and went to the bathroom. On my way to the living room, where I planned to lie down for a while, when I saw the blinking light on my cell phone that indicated that I had a voicemail. I picked the phone up from the table on which it rested, and listened to the voicemail.

"Kiku? Kiku, I know this is your number." I gasped, forgetting for a moment how awful I felt. How did Daddy get my number? "Kiku, did you move? The address I was told was yours was empty. I just want to talk to you and your sister. Call me back at this number, okay?" Click.

All of a sudden, my headache, stomachache, and chills returned in full force. I leaned against the wall, sliding down so I was sitting on the floor. I closed my eyes. That helped my headache.

First things first, I needed my number changed. I wasn't sure, but I thought you could track a phone just by its number.

Hands shaking, I picked up the phone, deleted the message, and dialed the cell phone provider. Luckily, it wasn't hard to get my number changed and I was able to do it quickly.

Second things second, I needed a doctor. I was smart enough to know that much. I struggled to get out the door, and trudged along. I had no idea where the nearest doctor's office was, so I thought I'd call the number Tohru gave me to see if Shigure knew where one was.

The phone rang for a moment, then Shigure's sing song voice cut through.

"Hello, hello?" He asked. I sighed in relief, sitting on a bench on the sidewalk.

"Hi, Shigure!" I tried to sound as happy as I could. He saw through me, of course.

"Kiku? Are you alright?"

"No, not really. Do you happen to know where the closest doctor's office is?" I asked, resting my elbow on my knee, and I forehead in my hand.

"I happen to know a very able doctor." Shigure sounded almost as if he was smiling. "Come to my place, and I'll give him a call."


End file.
